Every driver in Western Australia is set to receive a $100 fuel support payment under the 2026-27 state budget as a part of several short-term measures to ease cost-of-living pressures.
Treasurer Rita Saffioti delivered her third budget today which included spending on housing, hospitals and education.
Saffioti said the state posted its eighth straight operating surplus of $3.5 billion this year and an expected $2.4 billion next year.
However, net debt is expected to be $34.5 billion at June 30 this year, which has been attributed to infrastructure spending.
Saffioti said Western Australia continues to have the lowest debt burden in the nation.
From July 1, more than 2.1 million residents can log into the Service WA app to claim the fuel support payment.
Drivers will need to upload their licence number and bank details.
“Our nation-leading fuel payment will deliver real financial support directly to Western Australian motorists,” Saffioti said in her speech today.
Saffioti also announced an additional spend of $9.1 billion to invest into health and mental health services, including $6.5 billion for hospital services
Parents will receive a continuation of the student assistance payment with $150 available for every primary school or kindergarten student and $250 for each secondary student.
The payments are due to be paid from term three this year.
The government allocated $4.7 billion towards housing, with a measure targeted at younger West Australians.
The stamp duty exemption threshold will lift from $500,000 to $600,000.
However electricity and water charges are set to climb by more than $50 each, while running a car will cost an extra $35.
Saffioti said the state had been impacted by world events such as the Middle East conflict.
“This budget is being delivered in a time of great economic uncertainty,” Saffioti said.
“The tectonic plates upon which our global economy rest have shifted unexpectedly, exposing fault lines that no one could have foreseen.
“Our job as a government has been to cushion Western Australian households and our domestic economy from the impact of these fast moving plates.”
Extracted in full from: https://www.9news.com.au/national/wa-state-budget-updates-every-driver-in-western-australia-will-receive-a-100-fuel-support-payment/0af7c9f4-0ed1-4188-90a3-71013587e74b
